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No. 03 | Losing Friends to Changehttps://strainedgaps.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/no-03-losing-friends-to-change/
https://strainedgaps.wordpress.com/2017/05/24/no-03-losing-friends-to-change/#respondWed, 24 May 2017 00:45:17 +0000http://strainedgaps.wordpress.com/?p=851]]>Change is something that is constant in everyones life. It’s one of the things that everyone goes through. It can be both good or bad, or neither.

The biggest changes in my life have been related to where I am physically. I think that all the times that I’ve changed into another class or another school are the biggest periods of change in by life. This year I had to face the biggest change of my life yet, moving to another country.

Most change is positive in my opinion, except when it splits me and my friends apart.

It is difficult to deal with being away from your family and it is even more difficult to be away from your friends because there’s an air of uncertainty. With family, you’ll always be related by blood. With friends, it’s hard to say what will happen if you don’t see each other for a year.

With the development of social media, it’s a lot easier to keep up with our friends lives and I am extremely grateful for Twitter and Instagram. It is still not quite the same as being by their side but I’ll work with what I’ve got.

Whether or not you’re in a completely different country from your friends, or just in a different school, everyone can relate to feeling a sense of separation and maybe even isolation.

To make a friendship last is difficult but not impossible. I believe that as long as there is a willingness to continue to put in effort into a friendship, it will last through any change.

At the same time I was in my dorm in Sheffield watching a show on Netflix.

Terrorist attacks have been occurring with an ever increasing frequency over the past couple years but I have not been as close to one as I was last night. It is extremely scary to know that acts of terrorism are so prevalent in the UK while I’m living here.

As a Singaporean, I am have been made well aware of terrorism and what to do in the case of a terror attack. Students in Singapore are educated about terrorism and we know of the threats to our society. We know, in theory.

Despite being extremely aware of what terrorism can do, no one ever thinks that they could be a direct victim of an act of terrorism.

I honestly still don’t think that I could be a victim. Which is stupid, isn’t it? Perhaps I am in denial or just don’t want to constantly live in fear of being killed by an act of selfishness.

To those who may be concerned, South Yorkshire is not hugely impacted by the bombing. and I’m far out of reach from the chaos.

However, the Manchester attack has definitely left its mark on the UK as a whole.

Terrorism is scary because it can reach people from all walks of life, at all times, in all circumstances and most times, we don’t see it coming.

No matter where you are in the world, everyone should remain vigilant and be careful.

Life is not worth living in fear. So it is important that we are not consumed by constant thoughts of death. To focus on family and friends is what will get us through times of chaos and fear.

]]>https://strainedgaps.wordpress.com/2017/05/23/no-02-manchester-attack-2017/feed/0strainedgapsNo. 01|17 & Alone Overseashttps://strainedgaps.wordpress.com/2017/05/22/no-0117-alone-overseas/
https://strainedgaps.wordpress.com/2017/05/22/no-0117-alone-overseas/#respondMon, 22 May 2017 00:50:18 +0000http://strainedgaps.wordpress.com/?p=778]]>So at some point in our lives, we have to learn how to be independent human beings. Besides learning how to do little, basic things like tying your shoe laces or how to get to school on your own, we eventually have to learn bigger, more important things like how to apply for a bank account on your own without anyone around to teach you how.

I am currently at that point and am learning how to function alone whilst living in a foreign country.

If you think “Pfft, applying for a bank account is easy and blah blah blah…”, great. Good for you! However, I think that some of you reading this probably don’t know how to apply for a bank account either, so don’t judge me too hard.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you think about it), I lived an extremely sheltered life when I stayed with my parents. Basically, I had adults around to do the “adult” tasks, so I never learned how to do these grown-up things.

Since coming to live on my own in a completely different country, I have learned how to do several grown-up things all by myself, simply because I have to.

List of Adult Things I Have Learnt:

How to Apply For a Bank Account

How to Travel By Myself

How to Prioritise (Still don’t have this down but it’s okay)

How to Choose Good Meat at The Supermarket

How to Live In a Flat Alone and Deal With Being Lonely Sometimes

Of course, I still have more to learn and still have room to grow. Learning how to be an independent human being is not just about the things I have listed above. It’s kind of just learning how to be open to new experiences and being humble, asking for help and listening to advice.

Being on your own for the first time is scary, that’s the truth no matter who you are or where you come from. I have no idea what I’m doing but I’m just gonna go with it because I have to.

I’m confident that I’ll never be completely confident in being an independent person, but hopefully I get as close to that as possible.

(Also, about the bank thing, just walk in and say you want to apply for an account. The staff will be more than happy to help you out;) )